The Lost Phoenix
by Liz's Dystopia
Summary: Suck at summaries. Two sisters are caught in a bloody banquet and conflict when they seek help from the Konoha village, and it involves everyone in it. Can they survive? No main couples, but really violent and gruesome stuff. Don't read if u cant handle..
1. Naruto's POV

The Lost Phoenix

_A/N: This is a story I had been brainstorming about for the past two years, and I couldn't figure out how to write it, when to write it, where to post it up, and so forth. This story me and my lil' sister have been working on, and it's written in POV, (Point of View), form for our own pleasure, as we were originally thinking of making it an RPS, (Role-Playing Story). The characters, or OC's, that we made up are Hotaru and Rika Micamura, Hotaru being my sister's character, and Rika being mine. Then my sister convinced me to post this up on here and so here I am, posting this up for you. If you don't understand whose point of view you're in, it'll be in the chapters, and written before each chapter. Please enjoy, and don't forget to review for me. Thanks, it would mean a lot to me, and my sister._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. It is owned and created by Masashi Kishimoto-sama, and I also do not own the things that helped inspire this story, as well. I give most of the credit for this story to Kishimoto-sama, the creators of Elfen Lied, as it was their idea for vectors that this story is partly based on, to the bands, Within Temptation and Delain, as a lot of their songs inspired this story. I also want to give my sister some credit, as she has believed in me when no one else would. Thanks a bunch! Peace!_

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_-Naruto's POV-_

It was no more of a big surprise when Kakashi-sensei came to me one day, asking me to welcome in two strange shinobi into the village of Konohagakure from the Barragakure, (Village Hidden in Darkness). After all, I am the best ninja in the village. And who better to show them around than me, Uzumaki Naruto? However, what I didn't expect was to find out that these two strange shinobi were really Jonin from the Barragakure. And they were my age! How cool!

I went to the gates surrounding the village that separated it from the outside world, hoping to find them. When I got there, I found these two girls standing there amongst the trees. One had long black hair and silver eyes while the other had short brown hair and hazel green eyes. The one with the black hair seemed to be the oldest, and when I approached, she at once saw me, and threw a shuriken at me. I barely dodged it.

**"What the hell was that for?!"** I screamed at her. Her silver eyes were so cold and sharp, they looked just like the blades of swords.

**"Who are you?!"** she yelled at me, while her companion merely stood there, watching me with hazel eyes of interest. The younger one was kind of cute...

**"I'm Uzumaki Naruto! Why did you do that?!"** I demanded of the older girl, who continued to glare at me. Her eyes...they were so familiar...

**"Who sent you?"** she responded again.

**"Kakashi Hatake!"** I yelled back. It was at that moment her eyes seemed to soften, as well as her face, and she merely looked at me, while her companion joined her side once more. She smiled innocently, and then spoke to me.

**"You must forgive my sister, she is more experienced as a shinobi than I am. My name is Micamura Hotaru and this is my sister, Rika,"** she told me, approaching me and offered her hand to me. I didn't take it, but looked up at the older girl, Rika. Something about her was strange and different. She didn't seem like this girl's sister. She was pretty, yes, but not...not like the other...

**"Listen, we have come to this village to talk to the Fifth Hokage of the Konoha village. Take us to Tsunade-sama,"** Rika demanded of me again.

**"Hold up! I'm not taking you anywhere if you're that demanding! I only came here to show you around the village, that's it! So don't you dare order me around like some servant boy!"** I responded to the older girl, who merely gave me a cold glare.

It was all so quick and sudden. The black haired girl that stood over a yard away gave a piercing glare, and what felt like a hand crossed my face, causing me to yelp out of pain and fall to the ground while my cheek split at the seems, and crimson blood fell gently in small blossoms. I groaned, feeling a sudden rage surface inside, but I stumbled back onto my feet, unsure of what had happened. I looked from the girl in front of me to the one behind her, standing still, unsure of what had happened. Hotaru merely grinned with knowledge, like she knew that would happen, and looked at me warningly.

**"As you can see, my sister is not one willing to take disrespect. She has an extraordinary ninjutsu, enabling her to control and manipulate vectors. Powerful, aren't they, and she hasn't even used a centimeter of her strength when using them. I am nearly as powerful. If you don't assist us and take us to Tsunade-sama, you will get a full view of our strength,"** Hotaru warned me.

Out of pure fear, I looked up from Hotaru to Rika, and for a moment, I saw a flash of red deep within the silver pools, but ignored it. I had no choice but to obey. After all, I didn't want to die...but this girl...these girls...were they terrorists? They couldn't be, otherwise, Kakashi-sensei would be here, instead, trying to subdue these strangers. I looked down at the ground, unsure of what to do. If these girls were terrorists, they would kill Tsunade, like how Orochimaru killed the Third Hokage.

**"Please...take us to Tsunade-sama,"** Hotaru's voice broke through my thoughts like a kunai, sharp, piercing, and vicious. But somewhat sweet and innocent. I looked up, and saw that her eyes were even greener than usual, and her short brown hair seemed to frame her face like an elegant picture frame. Her smile was sweet, caressingly sweet, while her hands, which fell softly against mine, were soft and cool. She was so...

**"Alright..."** I didn't know what came over me. I looked at this girl, who was most likely my age, if not, younger, and saw her in a beautiful way. Puppet strings tug at my heart, (_don't screw with me, Kankuro_), and I felt like a marionette at her mercy. She controlled me, she controlled my heart, and she controlled my mind. I couldn't say no, I couldn't pull away. If this was a genjutsu, it was an excellent one...

I had no choice. I led them into the village, not even giving them the names or information of the different shops, restaurants, and places of the village. My only objective... _find Tsunade_. It was like a little voice in the back of my head, speaking softly to me. _Find Tsunade. Find Tsunade. Find Tsunade_. An annoyingly pleasant, sweet, sincere voice speaking to me in the back of my mind, controlling me. The two girls followed me, and it was at once that I would have realized the dark, sinister grin on Rika's face as she beamed at her younger sister while I led them away. But it was at that moment I couldn't pay notice or attention to it. I was more focused on taking the two of them to Tsunade, obeying the little voice in the back of my mind. My memories flooded back to me quickly, and I then remembered a place that Tsunade normally would be found in. A local pub that most of the adults in the village hung out in. I led them away from the gates, away from the many shops, and towards the end of the walkway where I saw a small little building that I immediately recognized as the pub. This was the place where Tsunade and that pervert, Jiraiya, would mostly be found in.

**"Tsunade-sama hangs out in this kind of place? What a shame..."** spoke Rika from behind me, her voice cold and dark, but I couldn't move or turn around to see her silver, sharp eyes. The voice in the back of my head was still chanting, _find Tsunade, find Tsunade_. It controlled my every will and whim, and I was helpless against it.

**"It's...charming, I guess,"** Hotaru spoke up from really close behind me. Her voice literally whispered in my ear. It was then that I realized that it was her voice that echoed in my mind, telling me, commanding me. It was then that I realized that she had performed a genjutsu on me. _That bitch_...

**"We'll take over now, Uzumaki. You can leave."**

A cold hand wrapped around my shoulder firmly, and then drifted away as the pull on my mind quickly faded. I looked up at once, my own will returning to me, and saw Rika and Hotaru vanish behind the pub's curtains. Something about those two was strange and unusual, and a horrible knot formed in my stomach, twisting and turning as I walked away from that spot...

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_A/N: That's all for now. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I've been working on this story for a while now, and I have a lot to go through. Please remember to rate for me, and thank you for reading. Peace!_


	2. Rika's POV

_A/N: This is Rika's Point of View, meaning it's seen from her eyes, her actions, and her thoughts. This is a short chapter of her point of view, but trust me, hers are not that short. If anything, they're pretty long, but mainly because a lot of things go through her mind and happen with her. I hope you enjoy this next chapter, and I'll post the next one up when I can. Please remember to review, as it would mean a lot to me to hear what you guys have to say, and my little sister, who also worked hard on this, would appreciate it. Peace!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, nor do I own the vectors that I used in this story, which I give full credit to the creators of Elfen Lied. Peace!_

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Rika's POV 

That little punk...giving me such disrespect, and then throwing it at my sister. I would've slaughtered him right there and then. I would've killed him. But I couldn't. Not with Hotaru there, standing in the middle of it. Scarlet blood would taint that innocent body of hers, and ruin those natural good looks. After all, I promised I wouldn't let any harm come to her before we left our village. I promised I'd protect her...and that includes from myself. It was Hotaru who calmed me from killing the blond boy, Uzumaki Naruto, when she placed her hand on my shoulder while we followed him into the village. She must've felt the brush of _them_ against her, and so forbid me from using _them_. So, I obeyed. I merely followed Uzumaki Naruto while Hotaru controlled him with her "Divine Venus" genjutsu, while he was unaware of the control she had on him. The pub was a small little building that looked as run-down and cheap as any bar that could be seen in small little villages in the different countries. The fact that a powerful figure, let alone Sannin, would grace this place with their presence was ridiculous, let alone idiotic. I had no choice, though, when my sister and me went into the pub and saw the small tables and stools that surrounded the bar on the far corner of the building, where the bartender tended to the drinks and food of the customers. Across the room, I at once saw the familiar figure of the blond woman sitting against the bar, her face a slight red, but her eyes serious and conservative.

**"Tsunade-sama..."** I spoke from across the room, while a sake glass that stood beside her shattered to pieces without so much as an once of strain in my mind. This gained her attention, and the woman turned to the entrance where I stood with my little sister, staring coldly at her. She was so much older, but she hadn't aged a day. Still as lovely and beautiful as ever, with framing blond hair and brown eyes that seemed soft, but at the same time, serious.

**"It's you."** Her voice hadn't changed either. Still mature, elegant, strong, but aggressive. **"Micamura Rika. It's been so long."**

**"Far too long. You remember my little sister, Hotaru?"** I spoke to the blond woman, and referred to the younger girl beside me. Hotaru merely sighed. I could understand why. Hotaru was barely a year old when my family and I traveled back here to the Konoha village. Hotaru, an infant, had met Tsunade back then, but could not remember then. I could barely remember...

**"Yes, I do. So, what do I owe the pleasure?"** Tsunade spoke to us.

**"We came...on business. We need to discuss to you about an important event going on in the Barragakure village. Please, we need your help..."** Hotaru murmured. She stepped forward to where Tsunade sat, and for a brief moment, I couldn't move to join her side.

Hotaru was better off explaining issues of our village than I was. I knew little, very little of the village, as Hotaru was the direct heir to the Barrakage, where as I wasn't. I was merely adopted into the family when I was an infant, before Hotaru was born. I watched as Hotaru spoke and confided into Tsunade of the problems and conflicts going on at home, and then I turned and departed from the pub. I stepped outside, and felt the sudden cold presence of _them_ as _they_ surrounded me. _They_ knew, _they_ predicted, _they_ sensed before I did. Someone was watching me. Someone... not too far away.

I looked up, and saw a boy standing a few feet away from me, staring at me with gray, piercing eyes of interest. His hair was long and ravenously dark, while his Konoha headband was sported across his forehead, same fashion as my own. This boy was younger than I was, but quite handsome and he fascinated me to some extent. Perhaps...this trip to Konoha wouldn't be so dull and uninteresting...

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A/N: I hope you enjoyed this. please remember to review. peace! 


	3. Hotaru's POV

_A/N: This is the third chapter of the Lost Phoenix story, and the second chapter I've posted up in a day. You guys will instantly notice a difficult, complicated relationship between Rika and Hotaru. Be aware this is no normal sibling-rivalry. Anyway, please remember to REVIEW it would mean a lot to me and my sister to hear what you guys think. Peace!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, no matter how much I wish I did, and I do not own anything that helped inspire this story, which includes Elfen Lied, Within Temptation, Delain, Evanescence, Flyleaf, and many other things. I also give credit to my sister, mainly because Hotaru is her character, not mine. The things I do take credit for is being a busy, tired writer, I own the plot line and the character Rika. So don't steal, and please enjoy!_

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_-Hotaru's POV-_

**"My village...no, my entire country is at war right now. The land of waves has decided to take advantage of our alliance, and betrayed us in our time of need. That's why my father...the Barrakage, has sent my sister, Rika, and me here. We are hoping...no, praying for your village's alliance and aide in this war!" **I pleaded to the Fifth Hokage, sitting in the stool next to her as the bartender gave me a glass of water. In my country, the legal drinking age was thirteen, (which was what I was), but apparently the laws were different here.

**"I see. Sounds like deja vu to me. We were just recently betrayed in an alliance a while back during the Chunin exams,"** Tsunade spoke to me sweetly. Her smile was warm, but her eyes...cold, serious. My sister did not lie. Tsunade was indeed a serious, strong woman.

**"Yes, word of that incident spread out, even to my village. I feel sorry for you...I have learned that the Third Hokage was your sensei when you were younger, and it was his life that was paid for in that situation,"** I spoke softly to the older woman, remembering the event when my parents took me into their chambers and explained to me the chaos that aroused in the Village Hidden in the Leaves, while Rika stood idly by in the corridors, eavesdropping. It was not long before that did our village get betrayed, as well.

I was never too good when talking to political officials of different villages than Rika was of talking about our home. Poor girl didn't even come from our village. From what I knew, she was abandoned a day after she was born, and she doubts if she even belongs in this village. A part of me always wondered what went on in that mind of hers, but for now, I had to ignore it. I just talked the best I could with this powerful, blond woman, and hoped that I would obtain what I had set out to do with my sister.

**"You know, it's so weird how much the two of you had grown,"** Tsunade spoke from beside me, interrupting my thoughts. I looked up, listening to her words intently. **"Years ago, when you two came to our village with your family, you two were so young. Rika...she was so little, but even then, I knew how powerful and strong she was. I knew exactly what was in store for her...And you. You were barely an infant. It's amazing how much you have grown, into this lovely young woman. Your mother and father took much pride in you two...you especially. You're their blood and flesh, their heir. It's expected..."**

**"Tsunade-sama, I don't mean to sound impatient, but...will you help my village out? Will you help us?"** I asked of the woman once more. Tsunade grinned, her face flowing slightly redder as she took in another glass of sake.

**"My, you are your father's daughter. I'd do anything for the Sixth Barrakage of the Barragakure village, so you have my alliance. My village will assist yours in this war, my dear Hotaru. Now, then, I do believe your older sister is growing impatient, waiting for us at the entrance."** Tsunade nodded towards where Rika once stood at the entrance of the pub, who had mysteriously disappeared only moments ago. However, through the curtains I could see the stiff, serious posture of Rika just outside, waiting for me with her arms crossed over her chest.

I stood up, as well as Tsunade, and she accompanied me to the entrance of the pub where I found Rika leaning against the outside wall, looking across the road towards an opposite shop where several people crowded around. I had never seen such a look in Rika's silver eyes before. She seemed particularly interested in something across the way, which was saying a lot. Nothing these days seemed to interest this girl. I followed Rika's gaze to where the crowd was, but it wasn't until Tsunade spoke from beside me did I understand what my sister was staring at.

**"Ah. I see our little Rika-chan has grown a fancy towards our Hyuga prodigy,"** she spoke cheerfully. I gave Tsunade a curious look, and she pointed to where a boy stood directly opposite of Rika, staring straight back at her. The boy had piercing gray eyes, almost the same as Rika's, and long, dark hair. His Konoha headband was placed comfortably on his forehead, while his charming smile held the shadows of cunning genius.

**"Hyuga prodigy?"** I asked Tsunade curiously.

I had heard of the Hyuga clan many times in my village during studies. A powerful clan with a unique kekkai genkai trait of the "Byakugan." The clan had been parted into two different branches, the cadet branch, and the main branch, as several conflicts had aroused in the family. I remember well of the hour-long sessions that my tutor put me through, teaching me of the powerful clans in the different villages, mostly preaching on the Hyuga and Uchiha clan. Rika was never put through studies and teachings like how I was. After all, I was a direct heir to the Barrakage throne.

**"Hyuga Neji, of the Hyuga cadet branch. He is by far one of the best rookie shinobi in our village. And apparently, the number one shinobi in your village has taken an interest in him,"** Tsunade nodded to where Rika stood, still staring at the boy, locked in his eyes.

I restrained myself with every bit of strength from giggling or laughing. Rika? Interested in someone? That was more rare to be heard of than a red moon. Rika was indeed the best ninja in the Barra village, but she was also the coldest. She seemed to have erased all emotions from within her but hate and rage. Love...sorrow...lust...everything seemed to have vanished. Yet here she was, checking out this stranger in this strange village. Perhaps the trip to this village would not be a waste of time, after all.

**"Well...thank you, very much, Tsunade-sama, for yours and your village's assistance for ours. We will be in touch,"** I walked up to Rika, and took her arm. However, I felt a cold presence brush against my face, just barely avoiding me. It was at that moment I knew what it was.

Rika may have been one of the most powerful ninjas in the Barra village, but she was also the one with the least amount of control over her chakra. She also had very little control over t_hem_. For Rika, she didn't need kunais, shurikens, or swords in order to protect herself or anyone else. She had _them_. She's had _them_ since she was born, from what I know, and has had _them_ ever since. The control over _them_ may have strengthened, but so have _they_. _They_ have grown, _they_ have multiplied, and _they_ have killed. Horrible memories of _them_ were carved deep into my mind, and it appears that I would be the only one that _they_ would not harm.

**"Rika, we have to go, now. We need to return to the village and inform Father of the Konoha's alliance, now,"** I told her, pulling at her arm, and dragging her back down the walkway with me.

On my way while pulling Rika by the arm, I did not notice the strange boy walking in the same direction. I merely groaned, but accidentally bumped into his shoulder as he walked by. I released Rika, and looked back towards the boy who continued to walk on. He looked back also, and it was in that brief moment did I truly see what he looked like.

Ravenous hair that framed his handsome face and black eyes that were sharp, yet soft. He was so attractive, and held about him an aura of distant rebellion. He was indeed a boy that stepped out of a dream, and as I looked onto him, I felt my heart race slightly. Was this the feeling that Rika felt when she saw that Hyuga boy? I wondered, but I merely blushed as I walked away from him, and continued to pull Rika with me away from there.

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_A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I worked hard on it, and I've worked hard on the whole story. There's several other chapters to come, I'm not quite sure just how many, but I know there's going to be a lot. Please remember to REVIEW, not just for me, but also for my sister, a little twelve-year-old girl who is as dedicated to Naruto and this story as I am. She worked hard on this story, and she would love to know what you guys think. Thank you._


	4. Rika's POV pt 2

_-Rika's POV-_

**"I don't want to go back home!"**

I pulled my arm away from my little sister as we approached closer to the gates. A part of me didn't want to leave, it wanted to stay. There was something about this village that seemed almost all too familiar. I knew it was supposed to be familiar, as I had been here before, but today...when I saw Tsunade, I felt scared. Terrified, even, of seeing her again. I don't necessarily understand why, but it is because of this reason that I wanted to stay. Plus...there were a lot of interesting people in this village. That I knew for sure.

**"But...why, Rika? We need to go home!"** I looked at Hotaru, and saw the suddenly worried and concerned expression that haunted her face. Hotaru had only looked like this few times before when I had said or done something that seemed like betrayal against her home village.

**"No, Hotaru, _you_ need to go home! That village, the Barragakure village, it isn't my home! I wasn't born there! I was only raised there! There's nothing there for me,"** I told her. I didn't know what controlled me, but everything in my mind was saying the same thing. _That's not my home! That's not my home!_

**"Yes, there is, Rika. There's Mother, Father, and little Sakuya! They're your family! They're our family!"** Hotaru tried so hard to convince me other wise. But my mind was set. I wasn't going to go back. Not now...

**"No, Hotaru! No! That's _your_ family! Yours, not mine! I don't belong there! I see all the stares, hear all the rumors! I stick out like a soar thumb! I don't belong! Here...I don't belong either. But at least I deserve to see what kind of place this is. You go home, Hotaru, not me. I'm staying,"** I told her. I didn't want to argue with her right now. I just wanted her to go home. I wanted her to leave. But I couldn't...

**"So, what are you saying, Rika? Are you just...going to disown us now? Just because you're ashamed of us? Ashamed of our village?"** Hotaru's eyes quickly filled with tears, and a part of me broke inside at the sight of that. I loved this girl, but she wasn't...she wasn't my real sister...

**"No, no, I'm not disowning anyone. I just...I need to figure out who I am, where I come from...And a part of me believes I'll find those answers here. Please, forgive me, Hotaru...but I can't stand it if you or anyone else gets hurt again,"** I told her. I turned on my heel and started to storm away.

**"But, Rika--"** I couldn't see her again. When I knew she would come after me, I felt a small strain on my mind and body, and I could literally feel the ground under my hands, though not my real hands. As if something pushed my body off the ground, I was launched into the air, and flew across the sky about eleven meters before falling back down softly thanks to the impact of my chakra. Luckily for me, I was able to find a clearing of the woods, and took advantage of this time to train, and practice.

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Perhaps it was my anger and rage that controlled me at that moment, or perhaps it was my deep seeded sorrow that bound to me constantly. But it was the only thing that repeated in my mind. _That's not my home! That's not my home!_ For years, all I could do was just watch and stare helplessly as it was Hotaru who became the pampered princess. It was Hotaru who received special treatment. It was Hotaru who was the direct descendant to the Barrakage throne. And it was Hotaru who belonged there. Not me. I would lie if I said this did not affect me, I would lie if I said every bone in my body did not ache with sorrow at the constant reminder that I was not one of them. I would lie if I said the pain I felt constantly was not the pain of knowing you didn't belong. Hell has nothing on the pain I feel. But then again, it was a different kind of pain. And it was this kind of pain that enabled me to control _them_. 

**"Hi-ya!"**

A large handprint was left carved deep into the trunk of a large oak tree eleven meters away...not yet at the full of my possible reach. A slight soft pain flew through my mind, and I felt at once the leaving feeling of the tree graze my real hand. _Again! _A second large handprint appeared above the other, causing that strain to come again, but I was not tired. Not yet. It took a while for me to grow tired using _them_, but the difference had to be said in battle. When I used _them_, I used more than one at once, and that itself would be an even heavier strain on my mind and body, not to include the different other genjutsus, taijutsus, and ninjutsus that I use in combat. By the end of it all, I am exhausted, and need medical help. I may have been the strongest shinobi, (let alone kunoichi), but I had the least control over my chakra and _them_.

_Again!_

This time there was more. At least three other large handprints surrounding the tree, covering the trunk entirely. But it wasn't enough. It was never enough. _Again!_ I used more this time. At least five more, making it a total of nine that I used. It was still not enough for me, and it was just barely a fraction of my complete amount. But the results were not what I suspected. Instead of just nine large handprints on the tree, the entire trunk seemed to crush and crumble from an invisible force. It swayed on its stump, and then fell forward, landing with a crash into the grass of the clearing. A huge strain went through my mind, forcing me to groan and fall to my knees. Perhaps I overdid it a bit...

_Retreat!_

A horrible strain entered my mind, and I felt a horrible pull on my back for only a moment, and then it lifted. That was something I hated about myself. I always overdid it, and when I did, I would always lose control over _them_. _They_ were so powerful, so strong, I could not control _them_. And _they_ had grown and multiplied, making the strain even worse on me. I remember when I was younger, I at one time only controlled two that only reached to three meters, then four, then eight. Now, I control what seems to be thirty-two that each one could reach up to at least fifteen meters. I dared not to know the exact range, for I fear of losing complete control, and might hurt or kill someone...like before...

I sighed and groaned as I got back onto my feet, and looked around the clearing. It was so peaceful here. The wind literally made waves form in the grass, the sun casting an extravagant glow in the clear blue sky, while the sight of the Konoha village graced the horizon. This place was so relaxing. I, myself, felt drowsy and relaxed as I looked on at the place. This place...no, this village was so unique, so peaceful. Another reason why I wanted to stay. Then there was another...

I giggled slightly at the thought of the boy I saw earlier. I didn't know what made me feel this way. I had never felt this way for anyone before. The boy was...interesting. He was cute, that's for sure. But it wasn't just his looks that infatuated me. There was something about him, something I could sense and feel...and like. This village was not so uninteresting after all...

A violent shudder raced down my back, and I turned on the spot, hoping to find the source of the chakra I felt. And there it was, imprisoned within the body of a young boy no older than Hotaru. The boy had wild, scarlet red hair that framed his pale face and outlined green eyes that glared like a basilisk into me. Upon the boy's back was gourd, containing something I longed to find out, and on his forehead was a red, tattooed symbol of love. He seemed to have been there all along watching me, but hadn't made himself known until now. I wondered how truly long he had been watching me.

**"Identify yourself!"** I commanded of him. He merely glared at me, not responding or speaking, but something about him felt slightly familiar. I just didn't know what...

**"That power...so strong, so unique..."** the boy's voice was soft, menacing, but quiet. He closed his eyes for a moment, and then continued to speak. **"I know of that power. I know of that strength. You use vectors, don't you?"**

I gasped. Only few people in this world knew of _those_, and none of those actually used _them_. How could this boy know of _them_ when I appeared to have been the only one? Perhaps...he used _them_, too?

**"How do you know of _those_?"** I demanded of him. He grinned, a sinister grin that I knew all too well about, and opened his eyes to me.

**"Because...I use them, too. Not like yours, but I'm able to control something through my will, enabling me to become stronger. Sand is my vector, I can control it, use it, manipulate it through sheer will..."**

Who was this kid? Using...manipulating sand? Sure, some people are able to do that, but manipulating an element was not using..._They_ were different, much different. I looked at the boy curiously, and watched as his gourd started to seep sand onto the ground. I watched, and saw as the sand flew into the air, forming around him, and protecting him. Shielding him, really. I was tempted, really. Perhaps...this boy was one of the few in this world who could equal me...maybe...

The sand flew at me, and thus made me its target. The boy did nothing, standing still, as if a viewer to a performance. But I could feel it. He was the one controlling the sand. As the sand lunged at me, wanting to attack me, I jumped into the air, barely missing it, but then the sand seemed to have a mind of its own. It twisted and pointed upward, and lunged hungrily at me. I knew what would happen if this sand caught me. And I couldn't let that happen.

_Release!_

A horrible pain tore through my mind, and a painful pull on my back, but it happened. I felt the cold surrounding of _them_ around me, and then the sand swept over me like a wave of water. I gasped, but the sand broke in two, like a shell being pierced. I fell to the ground, and then looked at the boy. A sudden surge floated through me, and it was in that moment, I felt like my hands were piercing through his body. The boy gasped, his eyes going wide slightly, but I grinned as he knew what I had done. A part of me, deep inside my mind, wanted to see just how strong and powerful _they_ were by killing this boy, but my will was stronger than that. I felt _their_ fingers...my fingers in his head, which was probably why he was so shocked, and felt the warm brush of his blood and the cool touch of his skull before _they_ retreated from him. I did nothing, but I felt it all. It was like several more arms were coming out of my body, and whatever _they _felt, I felt as well.

**"As you can see, the ability to manipulate sand is nothing compared to what I can do. As you can see, boy, sand is nothing compared to _them_, and if only an inch more into you, I would've been able to split apart every blood vessel and cell in you, killing you instantly. You may be strong, but you are nothing compared to me..."** I warned him. His face relaxed a little, but I knew what was going on in his mind. Fear, maybe, but mostly stunned surprise. He sighed, and fell forward a little, the sand falling to the ground. This boy was strong, coming at me with his sand at first, but he wasn't nearly fast enough. If he hoped to be any better at being a shinobi, he needed to gain some speed.

**"I...understand..."** he spoke, and I smiled at him. He was powerful, his chakra wouldn't be so high if he wasn't...

**"What's your name, boy?"** I asked of him. He looked up at me, his glaring composure returning to him.

**"My name is Gaara...of the sand,"** he told me. Gaara, huh? Interesting...

**"Well, Gaara, my name is Micamura Rika. I'm from the Village Hidden in Darkness, the Barragakure. I believe you're not from here, either,"** I pointed to his headband that was wrapped around the strap that held his gourd onto his back. It was a symbol of the Sunagakure village, the Village Hidden in the Sand.

**"You're right, I'm not. But what does it matter to you?"** he asked of me. I grinned, he had to be who I believed him to be.

You see, in my time as the best shinobi in the Barragakure village, I have learned much about sneaking into other villages and acquiring as much information as I can get. I once snuck into the Sunagakure village a while back, and learned about a little boy incarnated with the demon of the Sand Village, Shikaku. This boy was both the ultimate weapon and the ultimate threat of the village, the most powerful being there. The boy was the Kazekage's youngest son, and I was only able to see a brief view of the little child then. This boy in front of me...looks just like him, if matured a lot.

**"Well, Gaara, tell me...are you the Kazekage's son?"** I asked of the boy, questioning if my suspicions were right or wrong. The boy looked up at me, his piercing green eyes glaring, but a smile had formed on his face. A twisted smile...

**"And if I am?"** he responded back with a question. How clever...

**"You know, it's rude to answer one question with another question. If you are the Kazekage's son, you sure have horrible manners. If you are the Kazekage's son, that means that you and I have something in common, for I am the daughter of the Barrakage,"** I explained to him.

**"And why would I care about that?"** Gaara responded once more. How rude...but I had no choice but to grin at this remark.

**"Because my country and yours are at war."**

This seemed to have gained his attention. His eyes grew slightly bigger, that cunning smirk vanished, and he seemed to be angry for some unknown reason. He approached, but I kept my distance from him. _They_ kept him away from me, and he could feel _them_.

**"Oh...I see. What do you want me to do?"** he asked of me.

**"Perhaps you do not know of what happened. Our village had an alliance with another in your country, and they betrayed us. They came into the Barra village to insure the alliance was in place, and then attacked the royal family. They attacked my sister, knowing she was the direct heir to the Barrakage throne. What little did they know? But I protected her, and turned the tides against them. Then that village had the _nerve_ to say that we attacked them! So, now we are at war, not just with them, but with your entire country! If you don't do something, your village will be dragged into this, and thousands of innocent people will die. Do you understand?"** I explained to him, hoping some sense still existed in this boy.

**"I...I understand, but our village has not been involved in this war. So, I ask again, what do you want me to do about it?"** he answered. I didn't know what I wanted him to do. I hated defending my home, I hated defending my country. I wasn't even from there! So what am I doing, asking this stranger to help us?

Hotaru came to my mind, and then the reason made sense. I wasn't doing this for me, I wasn't doing this for _that _country. I was doing this...for her. I promised I'd protect Hotaru, no matter what. And since she was probably going to be the next Barrakage, I had to ensure that she would be. I bit my lip, and then looked at the boy, who gave an expecting glare. He was waiting, impatiently, for an answer.

**"I want you to help us. I want you to help our village. I know, it may be treason to your own country, but if you don't, this war could carry on, and cause a devastating result. War is not the answer..."** I told him. It was the truth. In life, violence only caused more violence, and war only caused more deaths.

**"Then what is?"** he asked of me.

**"I...I don't know. But I know if your village helps us, this war can be prevented. Too many people have died already...And this war will only kill more..."**

The boy looked unsure of himself. I knew this was a being who enjoyed the sight of death, enjoyed the sight of bloodshed. I was once like that, as well. But no longer. I needed a resolution, a solution, and not violence. I didn't want to see anymore deaths...I didn't want to see anymore people get hurt. Hopefully, this war will end soon, and no one will have to die...

* * *


	5. Orochimaru's POV

_-Orochimaru's POV-_

So, the child had returned to the Konoha village. Interesting. And along with her she had dragged along her sweet, innocent sister, Hotaru. I saw them at once when they walked through the wildness to get to the Konoha gates. And it was in that moment I recognized her. Violent, vicious, strong, and powerful, she was everything a shinobi should be. I vaguely remembered her of long ago, long black hair and silver eyes, so unique and gentle, yet as dangerous and unpredictable as the weather. I was surprised to see that she had returned. I knew well of the war that conflicted her country, and conflicted another's. I knew well of the burden the child carried on herself, I knew well of the violent streak that aroused within her like a heated lust. Violence and death were her only love, yet she didn't know it. And her weakness...her dear sister, Micamura Hotaru...

**"Orochimaru-sama, what do you want with this girl?"** Kabuto asked of me. He stood beside me in the treetops of the clearing, where we watched the young girl converse with the demon-incarnated child of the Kazekage.

**"Something no one will ever be able to acquire,"** I answered him, not giving him a glance. I only watched the girl. She had matured so much since she last came to the village. I remembered that day well and fondly, and so did the other two, Jiraiya and Tsunade. They were there, on that horrible day.

The day Yondaime died...A horrible day, when the nine-tailed fox was sealed away deep inside the Uzumaki Naruto infant. The day when the child's true power was revealed and signaled the beginning of the end. It was since that day did the child revoke her birthright and her citizenship to her country. When she left, she seemed to have disappeared off the face of the planet, vanishing completely, but not her family. And it was only years later did I discover that she had became the most powerful ninja in her village, barely at the age of nine. That was astounding, a Jonin at the age of ten, and then a Black Ops captain at the age of eleven. She was a female replica to Uchiha Itachi, a ninja prodigy.

**"Orochimaru-sama, what is it that interests you so much? I mean...you told me that she was a ninja prodigy, but I don't see it,"** Kabuto spoke up.

**"Did you see that tree fall. It was at least seventeen meters high, and ten meters thick. Did you see what made the tree fall?"** I asked of the young man, who shook his head. I smirked. **"She made it fall...with her chakra."**

**"What?!"** Kabuto nearly fell off the branch when he heard those words. Purely amateur and ridiculous, made me consider killing him.

**"It's true. Her chakra is so strong and powerful, it takes the form of vectors. These vectors are the most powerful weapons a shinobi can have. It seems they have multiplied and grown, though. From what I remember, she only had two when she came here years ago, and they only reached out to two meters,"** I explained to Kabuto.

**"But...that's impossible! Vectors?! That would mean--"**

I gave Kabuto a glare, warning him not to say anymore. He merely stared, unsure of what to say, and then looked down at the girl. He was stunned, purely stunned, and I could understand why. I was, too, when I discovered the truth about this girl. The hidden truth that the Barragakure hid for years, the truth that not even the girl knew about. I heard him groan, and knew what he was thinking.

**"Tell the others. Tell them the operation begins tonight, at midnight. We need it done as soon as possible, before she leaves this village,"** I told him, and he bowed to me, then disappeared from sight. I only grinned down as I watched the girl depart from Gaara, and turn on her heel to where I could see her face.

I licked my lips suggestively, knowing exactly what I would need from her...


	6. Sasuke's POV

_-Sasuke's POV-_

**"Now, you all know why I've called you here," **Tsunade-sama spoke from across the room. I was in her office, along with Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi-sensei, Gai, Iruko-sensei, Jiraiya, Anko, a couple other Jonin, and few members of the Black Ops. We were summoned here by Tsunade, but the real reason was unknown. A part of me kept wondering if this had anything to do with the two girls Naruto escorted into town earlier and I saw her talking to. A part of me kept thinking about that girl I bumped into.

**"It's about those two freaks I met this morning!" **At once, Naruto was quick with his mouth, but not with his head. This disturbed several of the ninjas in the room, including me, and I watched with little interest as Sakura nailed him across the head with her fist.

**"You idiot! Do you have any idea who those two were?!"** she yelled at him.

**"No! And why should I care?! Those two were freaks!"** Naruto bellowed. A part of me also wanted to smack him across the head. It was unbelievable he didn't know who those two were.

**"Naruto, those two girls were Micamura Rika and Hotaru, the daughters of the Barrakage,"** Kakashi spoke, leaning against the wall, Gai right beside him. I looked up, and wondered if Naruto had any idea who the Barrakage was.

**"Who?"** There was my answer.

**"The Barrakage. The feudal lord of the Barragakure village, the Village Hidden in Darkness. Those girls were his daughters, the most powerful shinobi in the village,"** I explained to him, looking at Tsunade from over the top of my fingers, which were folded and my elbows propped up on my lap. My eyes watched Tsunade nod in my explanation, but it took very little for Naruto to get it.

**"That's right, Sasuke. Those two are the most powerful shinobi in the Barra village. And they were here on official business. As it turns out, the land of waves is at war once again, and the Barrakage has graced our village with the presence of his daughters in an attempt to acquire our alliance in this war,"** Tsunade explained.

**"But...we can't get involved in a war like this! We just nearly avoided the one with the same country when Orochimaru invaded the Chunin exams. If we get involved, it'll quickly extinguish all our resources and there will be nothing left of our village!"** Gai spoke up.

**"Relax, Gai. We're not going to get involved in the war. The girls merely came to insure their country's survival. If we need to, we will step in, but only under certain circumstances. Now, we really need to get on the topic of one of these girls in particular,"** Tsunade spoke gently. She leaned back in her chair, and exchanged looks with Jiraiya, who stood near the door. I felt a sudden cold shudder run through my veins, as I suddenly remembered that girl from earlier.

She had to have been one of the Barrakage's daughters. She was...unusual, kind of. She had short brown hair and hazel eyes that seemed so soft and distant. She had to be no older than myself, very unique and interesting. She seemed like every other kunoichi in this village, but something about her was different. Very different, that separated her from normal beings. Then there was her companion. That girl caught my attention the most, but in a bad way.

She was just as unusual and unique as her sister. The girl had long black hair and silver eyes. Her looks were just as equal to average as the other's, but it was what I felt when I passed them by that made me shiver. A cold presence surrounded the older girl like a blanket of snow. Her chakra was so strong and unique, yet it felt like a towering beast was within her. I had only felt that once before when I fought against Gaara at the Chunin exams, and then against Naruto, and he had become Kyuubi. I knew there were others just like them, but did this mean...did we let a demon into our village without realizing it?

**"You're referring to one girl, Micamura Rika, aren't you?"** Gai spoke. Tsunade exchanged one more look with Jiraiya before speaking.

**"Yes, I am. As some of you know, Rika has been to the village once before, and it was on that day that she came did things change. Most of us know her story, the story of the kunoichi prodigy in the Barra village. The strongest in her village, barely at the age of nine. Now, she has grown stronger, much stronger than we expected, and we need to keep her under watchful eyes, in case she loses control. That's where you three come in,"** Tsunade looked towards where me, Sakura, and Naruto sat, listening to every word. Naruto and Sakura seemed to have left behind their arguing and were now listening intentively.

**"What do you want us to do?"** I asked her. A part of me wondered exactly what was in store for us. After all, we were messing with two girls who were of political importance, and if anything happened to them, that would put i us /i in war with that country. I merely sighed as Tsunade explained to us what our mission was.

**"You three are to be their escorts. You are to make sure no harm comes to them, for you know the consequences of what will happen if something is to happen. Escort them around the village, be their friends, do what you can, just make sure nothing happens to them,"** Tsunade warned them.

**"Uh-uh! No way! Those two were beyond weird! They bossed me around! Told me to find you! One of them even slapped me!"** Naruto yelled out, standing up. How predictable he was.

**"Really?"** Jiraiya spoke. **"That wouldn't be the first time, now would it?"**

**"Shut up, Pervert Hermit! She did slap me! And what's the weirdest of it all, she was a yard away!" **Naruto spoke.

**"Don't be ridiculous, Naruto, someone would have to be right in front of you in order to slap you,"** Sakura spoke. She wasn't right, though. There is a special ninjutsu out there that I have read about where one can act on something from far away. However, this was from before the First Hokage, so this technique would've vanished long ago.

**"You must be losing it, Naruto. No one can do that,"** I didn't even know what I was saying, myself, but it was the only thing that made sense to me. No one could have done what he accused one of the girls doing, but it wasn't impossible.

**"Actually, yes, one can,"** Jiraiya spoke from the doorway. He approached Tsunade's desk, and the two of them looked at us, like teachers staring down little kids who got into a fight. **"Her name is Rika, alright? She has that ability. It's part of her ninjutsu, and her sister, Hotaru, is a puppet master."**

**"You mean like Kankuro?"** Sakura asked.

**"No, nothing at all like Kankuro,"** Tsunade explained. **"Hotaru's ninjutsu is merely puppetry through her eyes and looks. It's a kekkai genkai passed down through her mother's side, enabling the shinobi to hypnotize and manipulate anyone they want. Kankuro must use a marionette in order to fight, Hotaru and her family can use anyone or anything they want. This is why we need you three to protect these girls. They're very powerful, and most likely wanted for assassination in many different countries. I owe my alliance to the Sixth Barrakage, and I promised him with this alliance that no harm will come to his daughters. Do you understand?"**

Tsunade got up from her seat and glared at us warningly. I nodded, understanding the mission, and so did Sakura. However, Naruto was reluctant, and didn't want anything to do with this. Too bad for him, this wasn't optional...


	7. Hotaru's POV pt2

_-Hotaru's POV-_

It was night now, the sky had darkened, the stars sparkled across the pitch blackness, and the moon was out, shining above like a bright pearl. The moon always made me think of Rika's eyes, silver, light, distant, and bright. It had been hours since me and Rika argued, and she left me standing alone at the gates. I decided not to leave the village, not without Rika, and I needed to find her. I decided to stay in a hotel in the village, and wait for Rika. I knew she would come back, she always did. But something about how she was in this village was strange. She actually seemed relaxed and collected. She was...at peace with herself here. My mother always told me about the time they came back here long ago, and how Rika just blended in with the village. She seemed so happy, then, so peaceful. My mother told me that it was almost a shame that they had to take her back home with us. It was like she belonged...

I sat on the couch in the front room of the hotel room, hoping that Rika would barge into the door any minute with tears in her eyes and a fluttering apology on her lips. My mind was hazy. I always hated fighting with my sister, but it was the truth, though, with what she spoke. There had been rumors and stares that followed her around. There had been people watching her and thinking of her as an outcast. I never saw her as one, but it didn't matter what I saw of her. It mattered what she saw of herself. Rika was always alone, a genius kunoichi, but she didn't have any friends. She spent most of her time training and practicing, trying to perfect her control over _hem_. But with each new year, there seemed to be more of _them_, and _they _seemed be getting stronger and longer. I suspected she had at least thirty-two now, and each one seemed to reach farther than eleven meters, but I wouldn't know. I was not the controller of _them_.

Maybe that was why Rika didn't have any friends, because she didn't let herself have any. It was more of a case of allowing oneself to have friends than just not having any. Rika was scared of herself. That was her worst fear. She would lose control over herself, over _them_, and then she would kill, again...Horrible memories flooded to my mind, and I restrained them once again, hoping not to relive them. But they were there. The memories of what had happened, of what Rika had done...they were all there.

_**"Sister, please, don't do this!"**_

_**"I have to...to protect you..."**_

_**"No!"**_

Father and Mother knew well of Rika's weakness. They knew that Rika couldn't control herself entirely, and that made her a victim to rage and anger. I suspected that it was all Rika could allow herself to feel. Rage and anger, and hatred towards anyone. A part of me always wondered if she ever hated me, for what I was...or who I am. Being the direct heir, the blood daughter to the Barrakage, getting special treatment and being pampered, while Rika stood idly by, watching solemnly. I always wondered...no, feared what would happen if she did hate me.

The sounds of clicks rang through my ears, and I looked up to see the door open to the room, and in stepped Rika, her eyes bloodshot, her face pale, and her body trembling. But she wasn't physically harmed. This was how she appeared every time she came back. Who knows where she went when she left, but all I knew was that whatever she did, it exhausted her completely. Rika flashed me a smile as she came in, but I felt something boil inside me, forcing me to jump to my feet.

**"Where have you been?!"** I demanded of her. She looked somewhat startled by my actions, but said nothing.

**"Out. Away. Which one do you prefer?"** she spoke sarcastically. I had heard that one many times before, and was growing sick of it too quickly.

**"I want to know where you go when you leave. You always disappear, and then you return like this. Like you were attacked. What happened?"** I asked my sister, who only grinned.

**"I went to train, okay? I need...I need more control..."** she said this almost lifelessly as she crossed from the door to the other side of the room, and looked out the large window to the sky outside. **"The sky's so pretty tonight...The moon is so full...I love it..."**

**"Do you know how worried I get when you leave? It's like I'm never going to see you again! I get scared each time, and I always worry if you're hurt!"** I yelled to her.

**"You know, you sound just like Mother..."** I heard Rika laugh at her own comment. Mother...what would she think if she knew Rika had gone out and didn't return until this late? She would have a fit, and Father would, too. It was so typical that Rika would act this way.

**"Listen, okay, Hotaru? Unless you're in danger, or going to be in danger, I am my own person. I can do what I want when I please, without permission from you or anyone else!"**

I felt it. It was sudden and swift, but I felt it. The sudden cold brush of _them_ against my body. She was using _them_ on me?! How dare she! My anger and rage at that moment had surpassed the fury of Hell. I closed my eyes, feeling the cold, icy sting of my chakra drift into my head, and then opened them to glare coldly at my sister. She grinned, amused at my action. This was the technique my family was most known for, called "Diamond Eyes." Our eyes turn from their natural color to ice blue, and act like spin-wheels, hypnotizing our opponents. It worked through our chakra, and I was able to manipulate anyone with this ability. Anyone, except Rika...

I entered her mind, searching for her thoughts, her actions, what she was going to do, what she had done...A dark shadow glared angrily at me with burning scarlet eyes of evil...Its voice entered in my own mind, though, echoing like a ringing bell.

**_"Oh, no you don't, little sister."_**

A sharp pain surged through my head, and I yelped out in pain as I pulled away, pulling my genjutsu out of her. I closed my eyes, feeling the icy sharp sting of my chakra dissipate, and my eyes returned to normal. I glared angrily at Rika, and felt the cold shudder of _them_ around me disappear, as well. I only glared, feeling useless and weak against her. It was how I always felt. After all, I may be the Barrakage's daughter, but I wasn't nowhere near as strong as Rika was.

**"You know, it's wrong to attack your older sibling, Hotaru. Besides, I have some good news for once,"** Rika spoke.

**"What?"** I was still angry at her.

**"I talked to the son of the Kazekage of the Sunagakure village. You know who I'm talking about. I asked for his village's alliance in this war,"** Rika explained.

**"Are you kidding me?! He'll be committing treason against his own country! We can't let him do that!"** I roared at her. I knew well of the Kazekage's son. When I was younger, around the age of five, my father took me to the Village Hidden in the Sand, and it was there we met with the Kazekage and his three children, Kankuro, Temari, and Gaara. I always thought Gaara was cute, but what made that trip horrible for me was that Rika was not invited to it.

**"It doesn't matter. The alliances will not bring these two villages to fight in it, but it will guarantee the survival of the Barragakure..."** Rika had suddenly underwent a complete change in personality. Just hours ago, she had disowned and renounced every bit of the Barra village had on her, and now...she was trying to save it. I couldn't take this anymore, I was tired of being in the dark with her, tired of not knowing and not seeing what went on inside her. And there was no way to find out...my genjutsu won't work on her...

**"Rika..."** I sighed. I didn't know what to say. **"I don't want anymore people to die. I don't want these villages getting involved in something that's way over their heads...way over ours! Do you have any idea what is at cost here if we lose this war?!"** I asked her. Rika's body trembled for a slight moment, then she looked down.

**"If it's the price to pay, then so be it. I am a human of my word, and hopefully...your village will be wise to follow my moral,"** she told me. I gasped at her words. This was not her decision to make. This was a decision of the Barrakage, of my Father! Not hers!

I groaned and turned on my heel, walking straight to the door. I didn't want to stay here with her anymore. I didn't want to see her right now. She was making a horrible complicated situation even worse by dragging these innocent people involved. I wondered what went through her mind, but at that moment when I opened the door, the only thoughts in my mind were to get as far away from Rika as possible. But that wasn't possible, as standing in front of the doorway were three young shinobi, smiling at us...


	8. Sakura's POV

_-Sakura's POV-_

This mission assigned to us was more surprising than anything I could have hoped for. Protecting two royal travelers from the Barragakure village was an honor, (and to do it with Sasuke was no lame surprise, either), but the news we heard of these girls was unusual. To hear that these two girls were so powerful was indeed a shock. Especially that Rika girl. If what Naruto said was true, then that meant this girl was a serious threat. I wondered what went through everyone else's minds when Tsunade told us that, but there was no argument, now. We couldn't back out, we were forced into it. However, I was surprised to discover just how pretty those two girls were when we approached the hotel. When we heard yelling, we immediately suspected something was wrong and rushed to where there room was, only for the door to open and reveal to us the two sisters arguing. One had short brown hair and hazel eyes, while the other, standing a few feet from her near the window, had long black hair and silver eyes that shined in the moonlight. They appeared to be arguing, but at the moment the younger one opened the door, they both seemed shocked, especially the younger one. She looked from Naruto to me, and then to Sasuke, where her eyes stayed the longest.

**"It's you..."** she spoke softly, then turned to me, and then to Naruto. **"Uzumaki Naruto! What a surprise. What brings you and your friends here?"**

**"Actually, we were sent by Tsunade-sama,"** I told her. This seemed to gain the older one's attention, as she joined her sister's side.

**"Tsunade-sama? What for?"** she asked us.

**"For protection. I'm Haruno Sakura, this is Uchiha Sasuke, and you seem to already know Naruto,"** I introduced ourselves. Sasuke bowed to them, while Naruto only glared. The girls bowed in response.

**"I'm Hotaru, and this is Rika. Why do we need protection?"** the youngest asked.

**"Because you're royal travelers here in the Konoha village, shinobi are assigned to aide and protect you from harm, in the hopes of preventing or avoiding war,"** Sasuke explained.

**"That's clever. So Tsunade-sama sent us three rookies to protect us? How idiotic..."** the oldest insulted us.

**"Rika!"** Hotaru cried out, as her sister turned and stalked back into the hotel room. Hotaru turned to us and bowed apologetically. **"You must forgive my sister, she's a bit of a mope. Come in, come in. Is that alright with you, _Rika-hime_?!"**

**"Fine, whatever,"** Rika groaned, while her persistent sister let us in. The hotel room was dark, shrouded by the shadows of then night. Rika stalked away from us, and went into the hall where I heard a door slam, and then silence.

**"My sister, Rika, is a bit of an antisocial. Now then, take a seat. I'm sure I'd love to hear the means of Tsunade-sama. I mean, sending us protection? I didn't even know we would be staying in the village this long. We were going to leave as soon as we finished talking to Tsunade. But my sister...ugh!"** Hotaru groaned as she sat on the floor in front of us, on the couch.

I was surprised to see how beautiful this girl really was. Long, flexible legs, a small waist, perfect chest, and her face held equal attractiveness. She stretched out her legs, and eyed Sasuke once more, making my heart to race a little. She out stretched her legs, and then folded them under her, doing all that in a very flirtatious way.

**"Well, word spread to her that you and your sister were still in town. So, out of pure safety of you and the village, Tsunade sent us to guard you. We're sorry for the inconvenience, it was a bit of a shock to us, also,"** Sasuke spoke, and I watched as he eyed her, also. Naruto remained silent at my side, ignoring him, though. I couldn't take my eyes off of Sasuke or Hotaru, both of whom were locked in each other's eyes.

**"I can understand that. The war that is raging right now in our country has caused a lot of problems, and a lot of assassination attempts have been made. Mostly towards us and our father, but we have been able to manage. I do appreciate Tsunade-sama's concern, though,"** Hotaru spoke kindly. There was something strange about her at that moment, though.

Her hair seemed slightly longer, her eyes turned a softer, darker green, and her smile seemed to glow on her face. My head started to feel slightly fuzzy, and I felt it. Her chakra, being used against us for some reason. I held my palms together, and in my head I yelled out the word. _Release! _I felt fine then, and Hotaru looked slightly disappointed in her eyes, but she continued to beam a smile.

**"Wow, you're a smart one, huh? You sensed my genjutsu before they did,"** she smiled cheerfully.

I said nothing. This didn't make any sense. Why did this girl perform a genjutsu on us? We did nothing wrong. I was about to speak when a crash echoed from the other room, and a scream followed it. Rika! The four of us jumped to our feet and raced into the other room, where we saw the large bedroom she was supposed to be in empty and dark, shrouded by shadows, while the window was open, soft, maroon curtains billowing gently against the floor. A broken vase laid on the floor, in shattered pieces. But what we didn't see was the problem. It was Rika. She wasn't there. She was gone...


	9. Kabuto's POV

_-Kabuto's POV-_

I didn't understand what Orochimaru-sama wanted with this girl, Micamura Rika. She seemed nothing special, nothing brilliant. She seemed like an average girl, a average kunoichi, nothing special, nothing new. But Orochimaru-sama seemed to have his sights set so well on her, so I had no choice. I had to obey. I waited patiently upon the rooftop of that hotel, eagerly awaiting for the moment she would appear. I knew well this was the place they were staying at, as the girl's younger sister, Hotaru, had appeared, and soon her older sister would follow. I felt the strong shudder of excitement flow through me, like how it always did before a mission, and awaited eagerly. Soon...very soon...

I saw her appear only hours later, coming back, pale, bloodshot eyes, but she was okay. She seemed absolutely fine. I waited until her shadow disappeared from outside, and then jumped from the roof to the nearest open window, and found myself within one of the rooms that the girls stayed in, and hid behind the door, well concealed by the shadows. My heart was racing lightly from excitement as I stood, shielded in darkness, as I heard yelling behind the door. No one said that being sisters meant you would always get along. And from what I felt, cold shudders ran through me. An immense amount of chakra had been revealed, so strong, it made Orochimaru's chakra seem like nothing. I was terrified, and an image formed in my mind of transparent arms and hands ripping a t every limb of my body, and the walls of a room being splashed with crimson blood...

I caught and held my breath as the sounds of different voices filtered through my ears from the other room. Familiar voices...voices I immediately recognized. Naruto and his friends, Sakura and Sasuke. What were they doing here?! I heard the two girls then speak, and footsteps drifted to my ears. They were approaching the door quickly. Silencing my heartbeat from the room and holding my breath, I crouched down low against the wall behind the door as it opened, and in stepped the girl. It was in that quick moment did I see just what it might have been that Orochimaru saw in the girl.

The girl had some of the loveliest, ravenous hair I had ever seen, and her silver eyes shined when the moonlight came down on her eyes. It was for a brief moment, I let my breath go as I looked at her. She looked so amazing now, her appearance basking in the moonlight. She approached the open window, and looked out into the pitch-black sky. Her hair gently billowed, and her head tilted slightly, enabling me to see her face...her eyes...A shiver overcame me, and I felt that strong sensation of her chakra run through me. How could one girl possess such an incredible amount of chakra?

**"I know you're there,"** she called to the darkness, and her silver eyes were staring through the darkness to where I hid, and a horrible shiver was sent through my body as I felt a cold hand press against my chest, a hand I couldn't see. Instincts washed over me, and I jumped out of the way just as the hand seared through my body. I narrowly avoided it, but now I was staring down the young woman in the darkness of the room, the only light shining in from the bright orb in the dark sky.

**"How'd you know?"** I asked to the girl, standing up, after having just avoided that contact with death. Only inch further, she could've been able to stop my heart instantly...and kill me.

**"I could hear your heartbeat. Even when you still it, it still beats...very quietly, almost muffled by your body. But I can hear it...I can feel it..."** her voice was so low, so sadistic. I couldn't help but grin at the way she was talking and acting to me. She was just like all the other sound shinobi that served under Orochimaru's rule. I could understand why he had his eye on her.

**"So...then you must know why I'm here,"** I suspected of her. She was a ninja prodigy.

**"No, I don't. But I suspect I'm going to find out, either way, as soon as I beat the hell out of you,"** she threatened. Another cold rush flooded through me, and I jumped once again out of the way, just as a brush of transparent hands came flying at me. That was when the thought came to me.

Her vectors! I needed to immobilize her vectors! It would be the only way for me to do what I needed to do. If I didn't, Orochimaru would have my head...Thinking fast, my eyes caught attention of a glass vase sitting on a small table not too far away, right behind her. If only I could get to it...Placing my fingers together, I concentrated my chakra on one specific target, her. Concentrating hard on this target, I concentrating my chakra into this genjutsu. It had to work, it just had to. It was the only way for me to succeed in this mission. I looked up, and saw Rika's silver eyes had gone blank, lifeless, and for a moment, it seemed as if her soul had left her body. This allowed me to travel from where I was to the other side of the room, and grab the vase. This had to work...if I hit the right spot, I might be able to disable her vectors...

One moment, I was staring at her frozen body, and then she started muttering beneath her breath. Words I couldn't hear, I didn't understand, and then a wave of coldness rushed through me, transparent arms passing through my entire body. I shuddered, and I felt a piercing stab from within me. My glasses shattered on my face, and I groaned as I brought the vase down hard. She let out a small scream of pain, and then fell forward into the floor. The coldness that swept over me quickly dissipated, the vase now in shattered pieces on the floor, while she laid, crimson blood seeping through her black hair onto her head, and then surrounding her head in a dark, deep pool. I looked down at her, and for a moment, I couldn't move. She looked so helpless, so weak, now, and unconscious. It was a hard thing for me to do, but it had to be done, or else I would not be able to obey Orochimaru-sama's command.

_I'm sorry about this..._

I lifted the girl up into my arms, and carried her over to the open window. Her body was light for her size and age, but I didn't pay attention to this, as I needed to get away as far as possible. I could hear approaching footsteps, and my body shivered inside when I saw the trail of blood on the floor. My hands became soaked in it as I carried her, and my heartbeat was racing so quickly. Without even thinking, and cradling her in my arms, I hopped onto the windowsill, and leapt out into the dark night, carrying with me Orochimaru's ultimate weapon...


	10. Gaara's POV

Gaara's POV

Perhaps it was the sudden moment brush of death that caused that passing moment of before to replay in my mind, but I still could not rid myself of the image and thought of that girl I had met only earlier. The way she presented herself to me, the way she spoke to me and acted towards me…this was kunoichi not to be messed with. Just the way she spoke to me, the way she looked at me with cold, silver eyes that could pierce skin and bone….

_**"If only an inch more into you, I would've been able to split apart every blood vessel and cell in you, killing you instantly. You may be strong, but you are nothing compared to me..."**_

I could still feel the icy cold shudder run through my body, just as cold as the touch of transparent hands that had touched and attacked me. Vaguely, I remembered at one time studying of a power like this girl's, a power so strong and so invincible, it was created by a family of powerful and strong shinobi that could tear apart an army of enemy opponents within only a breath of will. But that family was eradicated years ago, just like that of the Uchiha clan. Except the eradication of this family was a strange and mysterious thing, and not one member survived the onslaught that killed them. So…how could this girl, this one shinobi, possess a power that was supposed to have disappeared long ago.

**"Gaara, are you okay?"**

A voice broke through my thoughts and left me standing against the wall of the room, staring dumbly into space. My siblings…my teammates, Kankuro and Temari, stood opposite of me, staring at me with concern and fear, an expression I was more than used to seeing or witnessing. Perhaps it was the mere fact no one could control me, or that creature that resided within me. Even I couldn't control it. "It?" It has a name. A powerful, unstoppable sand demon known as Shikaku. For a while of my life, I allowed myself to be controlled by the rage and hate that resided within me, which fueled the power of Shikaku. But after one battle…one confusing and complicated battle against another, strong, stubborn blond ninja known as Uzumaki Naruto.

**"Yes, I'm fine,"** I spoke to my dear sister, Temari, who, despite how I used to treat her and my brother, still cared for me and my safety. The whole time we were partaking in the Chunin Exams in the Konoha village, she worried for my physical and mental safety. However, as I looked at her, I felt a sudden flush of memories protrude into my mind.

I vaguely remembered a time of long ago, a time of innocence and naïve spirits when I was only a child of the world, and didn't fear or hate the ones around me. If there ever was such a time. But I remember vaguely of a ceremony that was once held to welcome visiting feudal lords and their families. I remember well of the day the feudal lord of the Barragakura Village, the Barrakage, and his family, visited. I remember the Barrakage only had one child, a small little girl with short brown hair and shy, scared hazel green eyes. I remember of how the little child spoke shyly to me, how she hid behind her mother's legs whenever I came to greet her. I remember that child, a cute child she was, but she was not the woman I had met earlier.

In fact, I didn't remember ever meeting such a strange girl. I don't remember the Barrakage having a second daughter with black hair and silver eyes. I don't remember ever meeting this girl in my life. Yet she claimed to be the Barrakage's daughter. Could she have been lying to me? Could she have been deceiving me, like all the others who have done so in my life? Could she have…lied to me all along? If she had lied to me, I wonder if she had lied to me, as well, about the war she claimed her village was involved in…with our country.

**"Kankuro, is our country at war with the Barragakure village?"** I asked of my brother, who looked up immediately at me, a strange look in his eyes, as if surprised by my words.

**"Yes, Gaara, not so much our village, but another along the coast. They are at war with the Barra village, don't you remember? Why?"** Kankuro asked of me.

**"I…I met a young woman earlier today who pleaded for our alliance to stop this war,"** I explained to them. **"A woman who called herself Micamura Rika."**

At once, fear and horror filled my siblings' faces at the mere mention of this name, though I, myself, had never heard of this strange girl. Temari at once jumped to her feet, her face pale, and her eyes bulged with horror.

**"Please tell me you're kidding, Gaara. You actually met with Micamura Rika?"** she asked of me.

**"Yes, why?"**

**"Gaara, Micamura Rika is the Phoenix of the Dark Village. She's the most powerful shinobi there is in that village. She's the one who started the war!"** Kankuro spoke to me. **"If you had ran into her, you would've been killed, Gaara! What were you thinking?!"**

**"Her power is greater than mine. I wanted to challenge her, see if she really is as strong as she claimed,"** I spoke to them. My voice felt cold in my throat as I told them this, remembering strongly of the transparent hands that I could not see, but I felt them pierce my body and skin around me. Those…vectors…they were so powerful, so strong. There wasn't anything like them.

**"Gaara, do you know why she's the 'Phoenix' of the Barra village? It's because of the same reason she's so powerful. She has vectors that are formed through her chakra, Gaara! She's able to slaughter a hundred men within an instant! You're lucky you didn't end up like that, Gaara!"** Temari cried out. Tears of horror were in her eyes, as if I was the one challenging her life, her safety.

**"Yes, well, I'm not, now am I? Besides, she wanted something from me, and she couldn't obtain it if I was dead. She wanted my alliance in order to prevent this war. From what it seemed, she wanted to stop the war before it traveled any further. Does that seem so horrible to you?"** I asked of them.

**"Well, what did you say?"** Temari asked me. I didn't know what to say. I didn't know entirely of what to tell them.

**"I told her I'd help her,"** I blurted out. I knew my siblings didn't agree with my words, or with my actions, but they had no choice but to follow through. This was my choice to make, and although they might see it as a horrible decision that would endanger our lives, in my mind, I knew I was doing the right thing. After all, Rika had spoken of innocent lives being ruined and killed, and as I thought of her words, I thought of that little girl, that shy, adorable little girl. The Barrakage's daughter, the one I could never forget….


	11. Rika's POV pt3

_-Rika's POV-_

Blackness so strong and deep covered my eyes and in only a moment's time when the blackness had surfaced did I realize just what was happening to me, just what exactly had become of me. As strong as I was, and as powerful as I had became, if I could not see, I could not fight. It was one of the few rare weaknesses that I had. However, as my sight disappeared, my other senses grew stronger. In the blackness of the nightmare that had plagued me and covered me in a red flash of blood, I suddenly remembered of what had happened. That boy…the one who had attacked me had knocked me unconscious and left me to die. Or did he bring me somewhere? I sniffed the air, and the vague scent of roses and lilies did not drift to me, did not greet me. I was not in the hotel room, where a vase full of lilies would be lying, shattered into pieces after being hit over my head. The water of the lilies would be pouring out onto the white floor that was most likely tainted with my own blood…the blood that had never once been shed in years.

I had to be somewhat amazed and impressed with what the boy had accomplished. I was indeed impressed by what he had done to me. Not just anyone could catch me offguard, avoid _them_, and knock me unconscious by shattering a glass vase over my head. This was a task not easily accomplished, as many have tried to do me in and kill me, but all have failed. Except this one boy…he was something different. As if he knew how to strike me precisely and disable _them_ before _they_ got to him. I was…if mildly impressed.

A faint sound drove itself into brushing against my ear, and I felt a cold shudder run through me as I instantly recognized the sound. A soft, thumping sound that echoed shrilly through the silent darkness that blinded me. _Dub-dub dub-dub_. A heartbeat, but so much unlike the other heartbeats I have heard and felt as a moment of death quickly swept over my enemies. This one was slow, calm, relaxed, as if the possessor of this delicious rhythm could not fear me. It was not the boy's, as even as we clashed, his heartbeat raced from fear of quick death that I may give him. This one, though…it was fearless, it had nothing to fear, and through the constant rhythm of it, I could hear the breathing of the one who possessed it. A slow, sinister breath that was drawn only suddenly, and then released only a few moments later. I feared that whoever did not fear me may want to kill me…but I wouldn't let that happen.

_Release!_

**"ARGH!"**

My scream may have echoed through the darkness around me, but it did not echo in my mind. Something else did, something strong and horrible. Pain. Horrible, agonizing pain screamed through my head, and it was at once I realized what was happening to me. As the pain soared through my mind, it seemed to have flowed down my veins and into my body, consuming my limbs and torso like a fiery rage. I screamed again as the pain increased, and as soon as I calmed myself down, calming my own heart down, the pain subsided…for only a moment. There was still pain inside me, but not as strong…not as horrible.

**"I wouldn't try to use the vectors, if I were you, my dear Rika-hime. The base of impact was at the base of your neck, where your chakra flows through your body and into your central nervous system. When you were hit, your central nervous system and chakra ventricles were paralyzed, preventing you from seeing, moving, and even using your beloved, transparent weapons,"** came a dark, sinister voice through the darkness. I shuddered as the voice broke through my mind, and I found myself shaking on the ground, even though I couldn't move. That voice…it sounded so familiar to me….

**"Who are you?!"** I demanded to the darkness, but I was unsure of where the response would come from. In front of me? Beside me? Behind me? Above? I couldn't even move my head to hear the response and determine where that person was.

**"I have many names, Rika-hime, one is of being a Sannin, a powerful one of the three legendary shinobi,"** the dark voice spoke to me. I could hear footsteps approaching, deep, slithering footsteps that trailed on the ground. I winced as a cold, clammy hand slithered upon my face, gently clamping my cheek in its palm, and its fingers stroked my skin. So cold….**"But you may call me Orochimaru-sama."**

Orochimaru?! **"No!"** I tried to move away from him, trying to get out of this snake-demon's reach, but the moment I do, the horrible pain returned to my head, and I screamed out of torment, and somehow, I fell back into a solid wall, (or was it the floor?). I have heard of this man many times before, many times of when I was little and would overhear the Barrakage sharing with his beloved daughter and heir, Hotaru, the tale of the three Sannin, the three legendary shinobi that grew and trained in the Konoha village. Orochimaru was one of them, but not just one of them, but also the worst of them. Orochimaru was no man, but a monster who seemed to dedicate his entire life to learning and acquiring different jutsus and abilities. Sure enough, that was the only reason why he had…or needed me.

**"Orochimaru, huh? Why is it that a powerful and evil shinobi like yourself is in need of the captivity of one simple kunoichi? Why is it you have to send out a delivery boy to come and knock me unconscious, and then bring me to you? Do I have something that you desire for?"** I asked of the demon whose whereabouts remained unknown to me. I heard his laugh through the darkness, and the cold, clammy hand snaked its way back onto my face. He knew I couldn't move away, now. He knew I couldn't take the pain that would engulf me if I did. And here I thought pain didn't register to me.

**"You surprise me quite a bit, Rika-hime. The fact you are not one to beat around the bush and to be so direct is quite a surprising benefit. Not to mention you are quite brave, and even now, when your sight, movement, and vectors have been stripped from you, you still show no sign of fear though you are sure to face death. I admire that in a young shinobi,"** Orochimaru hissed at me, and his laugh echoed once more in my ear. His cold hand moved forward a little, just enough to allow his thumb to cross over the corner of my mouth.

**"Why be afraid of something you will eventually meet in the end? Why prolong something and be afraid of it when you can never escape it? Unlike most people who live their lives in fear and terror of death, I welcome it with open arms, awaiting patiently for the moment it takes me,"** I spoke coldly to him, but what I spoke was the truth. I had faced instances in my life when death was sure enough to be the result of it, but due to the fact I had faced these events so many times in my life, I was no longer afraid of the outcome, nor where I will go in the afterlife. Hell has nothing on what I live through each day….

**"Quite a brave and intelligent speech you gave. To not be afraid of the one thing that is sure to come is quite clever, but why be afraid of something that can never come for myself? Don't you see, my dear Rika-hime? I cannot die, for each new jutsu I learn, I become immortal,"** Orochimaru argued, but the fact was, even though he tried to hide it, even though he seemed to mask it deep beneath his calm and relaxed heartbeat, I could hear the true fear in the deepest tone of his voice, beneath his throat, beneath his beating heart…all the way in the knotting and twisting bowels of his stomach.

**"Yet…immortality is just a simple sign of cowardice towards death."** I smiled at my own words, yet I could hear Orochimaru's sudden resistance and disagreement. He didn't believe so. He blinded himself to that fact, blinded and convinced himself otherwise. For a powerful and strong Sannin, he sure was foolish….

**"Be cautious of your own words, my dear Rika-hime, for what you say can offend someone,"** his voice was different now. Colder, darker…more sinister. He was having fun. Thing was, though, I didn't seem to be, myself. The darkness seemed to grow deeper and colder with each passing second, and the fact his heartbeat seemed to echo through my mind made it worse. The faint pain was gnawing at the back of my mind, and I couldn't just plainly ignore it.

**"Orochimaru, why is it you have to send a delivery boy to bring me here? What is it of me that you desire?"** I asked of the snake-demon, getting straight to the point and trying to avoid any small talk that might come up and lead me astray of what I longed to hear.

**"Well, you sure are a quick one, my dear Rika-hime. Very well, there is something about you that separates you from a normal shinobi. Strong as you are, and powerful as you may be, you have a weakness. That one thing that makes you so powerful may also make you a target for someone who desires to learn every jutsu there is needed to be known. Just take a wild guess, my dear,"** his voice hissed once more to me, and I felt a sudden cold brush along my lips.

It all seemed to come at once into me, the sudden realization of the reason why I was here, the sudden fear of why he needed me, why he kept me. If I could, if somehow the pain would subside within me and leave me be, I could show this so-called _Sannin _the real power that I have within. After all, all Orochimaru searched for was a way to use and acquire new jutsus. And although _they_ were not a jutsu of any kind, _they _were a part of me, a part of my body, and _they _were formed by my chakra, and are used for my different jutsus. It was _them _that he was after.

"You mean...my...?" I couldn't even speak _their_ name now. I was too afraid, as each time I tried and would speak the name that so many people have uttered, horrible images would come to my mind of a time not so long ago, but of a time that stroke fear into the hearts of many...including my own.

**"That's correct, Rika-hime. Your vectors. They are weapons that no shinobi could ever imagine or ever obtain unless by pure bloodline of a certain family. The family that you had been born from,"** Orochimaru hissed a laugh towards me, his cold breath bouncing off my face. _My family?!_ Could this man know of what place or family I came from? Could he honestly know who I really am? **"Tell me, Rika-hime. How many are you able to control now? How far can you reach with them? Did they destroy the once innocent and childish lifestyle of a beautiful little girl? The beautiful little girl that you once were, Rika-hime?"**

My body merely shuddered at his words. Perhaps it was the way he spoke them to me, or the way he seemed to use the one word that no one called upon me. **_"Rika-hime."_** How I despise that very name, as it seems to bond me to the family that had long ago forsaken me. The very meaning of it, **_"Princess Rika,"_** gave me chills of hate and rage, and would force me to imagine ripping apart the very family that took me in. They never cared for me, they never saw me as what I truly was. No, the very man who claimed to _**"adopt"**_ me, the very man who many had called as my _**"father,"**_ the Sixth Barrakage, was no more of a father to me than Hotaru was as my sister. That man I have hated since I could remember. Most of my memories, locked so safely in the deepest corners of my mind, were full hate, rage, and spite towards that man. He would call upon me into his chambers and speak to me as if I was merely a menace to him, and he would no more wish to see me live than he would wish to see his village destroyed. He saw me nothing more than a tool meant to be used, and everyone else in the village saw me as that. I was a monster to them, a creature born of darkness and raised out of the deepest pits of Hell. They all feared me, none respected me, and all about, people knew of me. I couldn't walk down the street to the nearest shop without people dodging into alleys, buildings, or go into hiding in order to avoid. I couldn't even look someone in the eyes and not see the hidden fear and anger that person would have for me, even when they didn't know me. So as I grew, I learned to pull away from the village, to pull away from my _**"family,"**_ and teach and live only among and for myself. So many times I've tried to distance myself from the Barragakure Village, so many times have I tried to separate and disown this Hellhole that I used to call a _**"home."**_ Yet, each time I try to pull away, I somehow come back, and as much as I despise the village, I could not leave, for as hard as I tried to deny it, I had a deep-seeded bond there. I don't know what it was, and I honestly could not care what it was, but each time spoke the name, _**"Rika-hime,"**_ it would remind me of a village that I was chained to and would never be able to break free from.

**"Well, unfortunately for you, Orochimaru-kun, you cannot obtain them, for they are controlled by both my chakra and my will. You have to have a strong enough will and mind in order to control them, especially if you have as many as my own, and if they reach to such a length,"** I spoke wisely to him, but the touch of his fingers against my lips made me think of something entirely different. Something he would have access to, for I could not move or see. I was nothing more than a vulnerable hostage to him, a hostage meant to be used like a tool.

Orochimaru laughed once more. Cold, so cold was his voice, dark and sinister, revealing the hidden motive beneath it. Orochimaru knew right away what I was thinking, what was going through my mind, and that was the sickest of all. The very fact he could predict me, the very fact he could know and understand me, and predict my very reaction to this. He didn't care about my safety or sanity, he cared more for _them_, more for power, than he would care for the survival of I or any others. He truly was a demon.

**"As strong as you may be, Rika-hime, I know for a very good fact that you can only control nine vectors at a time, though you have well more than that. The strain on your mind and body is too great for a young woman to sustain, and even if you use two at their maximum length and speed, you would feel that strain and cause more harm to yourself than you would to your enemy,"** Orochimaru laughed. How was it possible he could know this much about me and _them_?

**"How...how could you know so much about me?"** I asked of the man before me, who held me in a tighter clasp of the face. He laughed once more, a darker laugh, and his hand slipped downwards towards my neck. This was the first time I felt how cold his fingers really were, how long and slithering they suddenly seemed.

His fingers snaked their way onto my neck, and firmly grasped me at the base of my neck, behind my throat, buried by my black hair. I winced slightly as his grasp tightened around me, and forced my head back. I knew that if I could see, I would be staring into the deep, lifeless pools of his eyes that revealed nothing but evil sins and thoughts. I could feel his cold, damp breath on my face, and I could sense the sudden hate and rage that had formed within his body. The way he held me...the way he suddenly seemed to have a firm hold on my body...it showed it all. He was getting annoyed, now, temperamental. I had apparently struck a nerve by interrogating and questioning his methods, instead of acting like a good little hostage. He forced my head back even further, and I knew that my throat was now completely revealed to him. If it wasn't for his hand on the back of my neck holding me, I would be in so much pain right now, as this would sure enough break my neck. All of a sudden, though, I could feel his breath on my skin, and my throat yielded to him, his breath gently grazing up to my ear.

**"I had been watching you for a very long time, my dear Rika-hime. I know your strengths, your weaknesses, and the very things that make you so strong and the things that bother you so. You can't escape me or my eyes, my dear Rika-hime,"** Orochimaru laughed in my ear, and I gasped slightly as I felt him lower his face onto my throat. Just as the moment I felt his lips against my skin, an image of fear and horror came to my mind, and I reacted just as the way I should've.

**"NO!"**

Searing, horrible, agonizing pain succumbed through me as I tried to resist him, as I tried to break free from him. My body moved away from his grasp on pure instinct, but as I moved, the pain of my body returned, and added to it was the pain on the base of my neck as his nails scratched deep against my skin. I fell hard against something solid, the pain in my head increasing as I suddenly felt and heard a deep _crack _within my mind. I could hear Orochimaru grumbling in the deep darkness, the sound of his voice quickly fading away as I laid there, and felt the warm liquid of my own blood trickle down along my face. He only laughed at my agony, at my suffering, and for a moment, through the darkness, I felt my eyes sting from the pain and tears started to form, but I held them back. I would not allow myself to cry, not after so many years of preventing myself from crying. I would not allow myself to show weakness to an enemy. The law of the shinobi repeated in my mind, echoing harshly like a violent siren.

_**"The way of the shinobi is to be strong, keep the mission in mind and as the main priority, and don't allow yourself to be misled by your own personal emotions or opinions. No matter what, never shed a single tear."**_


	12. Kakashi's POV

_-Kakashi's POV-_

In only moments since the young shinobi, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke, were sent by Tsunade to keep a close-full watch on the visiting girls from the Barragakure Village did the oldest of the two girls, Micamura Rika, suddenly be taken under their watch. I was called immediately to the hotel, along with several other Jonin and the two Sannin, to investigate this incident. Once we had arrived, we found the young girl, Micamura Hotaru, on the couch in the main room, sobbing hysterically into her hands, while my students crowded around her, trying to comfort her. I was quite proud of them for taking such close care of her, but immediately, when I questioned them what happened, Sakura explained to be the detesting and rebellious nature of the older girl. However, this was indeed no surprise to me. I remembered well of a time long ago when the young Rika child visited the Konoha village years ago. She was a shy child, scared and gentle, but innocent. I remember well of how she acted, constantly hiding behind her father's leg, or hiding in the corners of the hotels or behind large trash cans. But on that day...that one day, everything changed...

The hotel in which the crime had happened was in far worse shape than I could have imagined. A shattered vase laid on the ground before the window, blood splattered over it, mixing into the water and flowers that were at one time within the vase. The blood flowed and become red blossoms in the water, while accented little droplets upon the flowers' petals. The vase shards were covered in pools of crimson life, and dribbled and created a trail along the ground. Along the ground were also shards of glass a few feet away, small and miniscule, as if meaningless. The trail of blood and water shimmered in deep pools on the pure white carpet, tainting and ruining the beautifulness that was added by the moonlight, and trailed up along the windowsill, which was also broken and shattered into several blood-covered shards. So empty and beautiful pools that just seemed to shimmer with an omniscient light from the moon.

**"There certainly was a battle here,"** I spoke to the other Jonin, which included Anko, Gai, Asuma, and Kurenai. However, Jiraiya and Tsunade had disappeared and seemed to have gone to the roof. I peered down at the broken vase, and saw clearly small strands of black hair that were drenched in the red. Black hair that could've only belonged to one.

**"The creep smashed her head in with a vase, and dragged her out onto the window, and took off with her. How dull,"** Anko spoke this as if she was bored by this sudden case. But she wasn't staring at the window. Instead, she was staring at the wall behind the door, the wall that was covered with handprints.

**"What are the chances this was something done by one of Orochimaru's henchmen? You think he's after her again?"** Gai asked of us, though I didn't know how to answer. Asuma and Kurenai most likely didn't remember of such a horrible time when the child was in the village, when the innocent and shy little girl almost destroyed all of us, and all thanks to Orochimaru and the Nine Tailed Fox, Kyuubi.

**"It could be. He had quite an obsession over her long ago, and now that she's back in the village, he might go after her,"** I examined the small shards of glass that laid on the ground a few feet away. They were small, thick, and seemed to have been shaped and formed into some kind of frame, but there weren't any broken pictures or paintings in the room. This glass...these broken shards must've come from a pair of glasses. But not just any...

**"Kabuto."**

At once, the Jonin in the room turned to me, and I looked up at them, holding one shard of glass in my hand. I held it out in my palm, and Gai stared at it only briefly before recognizing it.

**"This glass is different from the rest, thicker, and shaped differently, like in order to fit the frame of a pair of glasses. Name one shinobi that we know that works for Orochimaru and wears glasses,"** I spoke to them, but they understood what I meant. It had to be Kabuto, there was no other way. Orochimaru's lackey boy would do anything for his master, if only to save his own skin.

However...Kabuto wouldn't be so stupid as to break into a room in order to take the girl, would he? The glass on the window had to have been broken another way, especially since the window was open, but the glass laid on the ground. Someone else must've broken the window. But why? I watched as Anko placed her hands on the wall, and formed a hand sign. Just as she did so, a cold wave rushed about me, and the room turned deathly cold. I blinked, and could feel the strong chakra that was emanating off of Anko, but stronger chakra was coming from behind me...beside me...above...below...all around me. I looked, and I could see millions of handprints on the walls and ceiling, and all of them glowed with a faint, violet color before suddenly turning pitch black. Anko had performed a genjutsu to identify the different handprints, and the only handprints that were different from there were the gray ones that laid on the vase and on the wall behind the door. The entire room, though, was covered in pitch black handprints.

**"What are they?"** Kurenai spoke out, staring at the millions of handprints. These weren't an illusion, they were real, but there were so many, but they all came from the same person. I looked towards the window, and saw that a different set, the only set, of white handprints were on the glass, amongst several other black handprints, which were also covering the small shards of glass. There were three people in this room when the attack happened. But the millions of handprints...?

**"The set on the window has to belong to the victim, to Rika. Those are the only set that seem to match with a woman's hands,"** Anko spoke up, and she was right, as the white handprints were smaller than the others, and had somewhat longer nails. Then Anko turned to the wall and to the vase. **"These gray ones have to belong to the attacker, to Kabuto. He would've been the one who attacked Rika with the vase."**

**"What about these other set? The millions of black handprints?"** Asuma asked of her. Anko only stared at them, as stunned as the rest of us.

**"I...I don't know. They're not human hands, they're different. They're so much bigger than a man's, and look at the way they're formed!"** she pointed to the different prints, and we all saw what she meant. These were perfectly formed and placed on the surfaces, exactly shaped and formed like perfect, if somewhat monstrous, hands. There was no flaw to them, no exact spot to where a perfect hand was not resting on the surface. These were no human hands. They were something entirely different, something...inhuman, monstrous. But what?


	13. Tsunade's POV

_-Tsunade's POV-_

_**"Tsunade-sama, look at all the pretty flowers I picked for you!"**_

_**"Tsunade-sama, this flower reminds me of you! Because it's so pretty!"**_

_**"Tsunade-sama, when I grow up, I want to be as strong as you! I want to be the strongest kunoichi in my village!"**_

_She was so cute back then. What happened to her?_

My thoughts traveled so far in my mind, I didn't even realize I was standing atop the roof of the hotel, and beneath me, I could imagine the room of which she was kidnapped quite clearly, though I had never seen it. I could still hear Hotaru's faint sobs that seemed to drift into the hallway from the closed up room. I could still feel that sudden sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I could still see her in my mind's eye, tall, matured, all grown up…she was exactly how I pictured she would end up. Everything but her eyes. Her eyes were still silver gray, but they were so much colder, now, so much deeper and darker. The eyes of one who has seen gruesome and brutal deaths before them, and no longer is effected. A poor child that has seen the sins of this world.

I remember well of a time not long ago when the child came to this village, this at-one-time-peaceful village. The child was such a shy and innocent one, hiding constantly and concealing herself from strangers. However, she at once warmed up to me and Jiraiya. She never once pulled away or tried to hide. I even remember the day I met her. Her _**"father,"**_ the Sixth Barrakage, was visiting the village with her, and not-even-one-year-old Hotaru, and the child even then was shy. I'm not quite sure how old she was, but when I came to greet them with Jiraiya at the gates, I immediately fell for the little girl. She had the longest black hair I had ever seen, and the prettiest gray eyes, soft, gentle, but cold, as well. She was so pretty, and although her _**"mother"**_ constantly nagged her about wearing lighter colors, prettier, girlish colors, the child still looked extremely cute in her light blue and grass green kimono.

_**"My, aren't you a cute little thing. What's your name?"**_

_**"Um…uh…Rika…."**_

So shy she was, and when her _**"father"**_ eagerly pushed her to greet the powerful Sannins, she was still shy, but she somehow walked out from behind him, and came walking slowly towards me, while I had fallen to one knee, and held my hands out to her. I believe she had stumbled, but I never regretted that fact, as she had fallen into my arms, and before I realized it, I was holding her in my arms, as if she was my own child. Even Jiraiya took a fondness to her, as I held her then, he patted her head, and she even smiled lovingly, (yes, I said lovingly), at him. I even remember how warm she was, but I'm sure most of the warmth was from the red blush on her face. After that, she was not so shy around me or him, but she was well shy around other strangers. We brought her to meet the Fourth Hokage and the other Jonin, and she hid behind us, while her _**"family"**_ was out and about. It seemed as if they had abandoned her, and wanted nothing to do with that sweet child. Yondaime grew easily attached to that little girl, as the moment she appeared before his eyes, he literally welcomed her with open arms. The little girl was so sweet, and she, herself, grew attached to the blond Hokage.

She even had a habit, during the time of her stay, to call me _**"Mama,"**_ something I never heard her call her own _**"mother."**_ She stayed by my side, and when she wasn't near me, she would go off on her own, and return to me with beautiful bouquets of flowers. I remember of when I once asked her why she called me that, and it was her answer that took my heart away.

_**"Because you are to me what Mother never could be. I want to look up to someone, to be like someone, to care and love someone like a daughter and mother should. And to me, you are that someone, Tsunade-sama! You are my Mama Tsunade! You are...my heart-mama!"**_

I smiled fondly in the memory, as I had nearly cried when she spoke those words. I even remember the day that happened. I had come upon the Sixth Barrakage, and begged to take his beautiful daughter with me to the field of flowers on the outskirts of the village. He honestly couldn't have cared less. When I took Rika with me, she and I seemed to dance in the large field of flowers, and when I had asked of that reason, she merely smiled at me and gave me a beautiful pink lily, and placed it in my hair behind my ear.

_**"A flower so beautiful should only envy the beauty of the woman who wears it."**_

Tears stung my eyes as I thought of that once beautiful little child. Where did she go? Somehow, the world around her seemed to morph and change her into what she is now, and although she is quite lovely now, that stroke of innocence and purity had long since vanished. She was no longer that beautiful little girl now, but a beautiful young woman who was not afraid of death…or Hell.

**"Tsunade?"**

A voice came from behind me, and I at once turned to see Jiraiya standing a few feet away from me, standing closer to the entrance of the hotel. A concerned look was on his face, a look as if he knew what was going through my mind, not like I didn't know what was going through his. I knew, he knew, we both knew and realized in this silent and brief moment, the little girl we knew long ago was the one that was missing now, not the woman, but the child. Jiraiya approached me, and seemed to become locked in my eyes. I could still hear her voice, though, calling out my name…mine, and his.

_**"Mama Tsunade! Papa Jiraiya!"**_

**"I know it hurts, Tsunade. To suddenly realize that…that little girl from long ago had not only grown up, but had also changed. That sweet little child…she has seen her real power, her real strength, and she's not shy or afraid anymore,"** Jiraiya spoke calmly to me. Words still echoed in my mind as I turned away from him, and stared up at the pitch black sky, the white orb of the moon sending beautiful blossoms of light down onto the city that I seemed to control and reign over.

_**"As years pass by before the child's face, wars rage around it, and it finds itself and the parasite that made it, and the world around it. When the child finally overcomes the virus that controls it, it will see the darkness of the storm, the shadows that dance over the pools of blood, and will see the eyes of the demon that started it all. It will see its own reflection…."**_

**"Jiraiya, do you remember what…Yondaime told us all after Rika and her family left that night? About the child in the storm of darkness?"** I asked of the man, who seemed slightly stunned that I would remember such a speech of anger and evil. But I did, and there was no way of ridding myself of it.

**"Of course. It made me think of Rika, and how naïve she is to the darkness around her, to the world around her,"** he responded to me, but I could hear the fear, the sudden shudder of terror that seemed to rage through my veins, and probably through his own.

**"Well…what if it wasn't just a speech, a saying that meant we needed to protect this girl? What if it was actually a prophecy? What if he was predicting the coming of certain events?"** I asked of Jiraiya, turning to him and seeing his eyes stare at me with concern and fear.

**"You mean, what if that little girl, Rika, suddenly becomes evil? Are you actually saying that there's a chance that girl can change so quickly and create such damage?"** Jiraiya asked of me, accusing me of speaking of nonsense, when it really didn't seem like it.

**"Why not? Rika has grown so much stronger and powerful. Earlier today, she shattered a sake glass in the bar that was at minimum four meters away, and she crushed it into dust. It is without a doubt that she has gotten stronger, let alone...Her eyes, Jiraiya, they were colder, darker. She's changed,"** I spoke to him.

**"But she wouldn't kill anyone, would she? I mean…years ago, she was traumatized to even see blood, how could she kill so many people and cause so much chaos?"** he asked of me. I didn't know how to answer him. Something in my stomach knotted painfully as I imagined this once innocent little girl suddenly becoming destructive and deadly, and all because of what had happened to her years ago. Perhaps it was that drumming, falling sensation that succumbed me as I thought of this girl staring up at the black sky, blood covering her face and body like crimson light, and her silver eyes just staring up in pure fear. She screamed...and her screams pierced through the night and echoed through the sky, like an echoing siren that was without a doubt an omen of the destruction of the village. Torn, destroyed, and broken, that child left the village that was shattered due to her, and even though it had been years since she last was here, a part of me...no, all of me, felt that same fear and horror would come once again...


	14. Kabuto's POV pt2

_-Kabuto's POV-_

I didn't understand what was happening to me, what was going through me, but the moment my feet landed on the solid ground beneath me, spinning wildly along the world, with the young woman in my arms, I knew that what I had done was indeed the worst I had ever done. A girl was unconscious, and bleeding, in my arms, and I didn't know what to do. The moment the vase left my hands, I was shaking and covered in her blood. The very fact her chakra was so strong and powerful, she was able to rip through me, showed what I was dealing with, showed what Orochimaru was dealing with. It had only been an hour or so when I returned to the base where Orochimaru had ordered me to follow, and I was immediately given the order to bandage up the girl that Orochimaru had apparently tortured mentally, (though I highly doubt physically). When I entered the room, though, and saw what had happened to the girl, a part of me wished I could just as easily turn on my heel and storm out of there, away from this young woman.

I didn't expect Orochimaru to have taken such a strong toll upon the girl. She laid up against the wall, eyes closed, face pale, and body motionless. I only had to remind myself that she was blind and paralyzed from the impact of the blow on the head. However, I saw marks along her neck, small light bruises and contusions that showed obvious signs of Orochimaru's sick and evil deeds. He had apparently had his way with her. Her black hair was matted with crimson blood, which trickled down in elegant pools along her face and down her bruised neck. Her black netted shirt was ripped slightly along the hem, while her legs were bruised in different places and soaked with a strange fluid that I didn't seem too focused on. I was more focused on her face. Even through the thick blood and dried tears, she still held about her a loveliness that seemed to be only envied by the moon. Her face was so pale and fare, like the light cast down by the moon, while behind her closed lids I imagined tearful, sorrowful silver eyes that would stare up at me in deep seeded pain. I approached her, my footsteps being muffled by the thick layer of dust on the floor, but somehow, they seemed to be loud enough to where they would startle and stir the young woman.

She awoke with a start, almost a scream, and tried to move slightly, but she groaned out of pain. Just as I had imagined, tearful silver eyes stared blankly past me and across the room. It took me only a moment to remember that she was blind, and had not seen the proportions of the room, or anyone who had brought her here. The only one whom she would know would look like...was me.

**"Who...who's there?!"** she called out to the room, a bit stunned and terrified, as if I was Orochimaru here to harm her again, instead of the shinobi who attacked her and needed to bandage her up. Not much real better than that, to be honest.

I didn't answer her, I couldn't. Her voice was just torn, broken, and shattered, and a bit drained, as she had probably been screaming for a while since Orochimaru had harmed her. I merely approached where she laid, and fell beside her, gently placing my hands down on the ground, and grazing my fingers across the back of her hand. She gasped, and tried to pull away, but she let out a low moan of pain, and grew still again. She was in far too much pain to try to move, paralyzed completely. I didn't blame her, though, for trying to move and trying to get away. If I was in her predicament, I would've tried the exact same thing, after all. I pulled my hand away, and gently placed it on her face, but she winced in both pain and fear. I had to calm her down, I had to relax her a bit. I grazed my fingers just slightly down her face.

**"It's alright. It's alright. I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to help you,"** I spoke to her softly. She appeared unresponsive for only a moment before her eyes widened, and I knew she recognized my voice. She bit her lip slightly, but there was something else in her eyes, something strong and powerful, something I couldn't see, but I knew was there. Not hate, not rage, but...confusion.

**"It's you. You're the one that attacked me,"** she spoke this almost too calmly. She just relaxed a little against the wall, as if she knew I wasn't going to hurt her. I had no means of hurting her, no means or reason for causing harm to her. She was just weak, right now, and vulnerable.

I didn't know how to respond to her words. How could I tell this girl, this lovely girl, that I was, in fact, the one who did attack her? How could I tell her that I was the one who knocked her unconscious and brought her here? How could I tell her I was the one responsible for allowing Orochimaru access to her? I couldn't, I couldn't even speak. This girl, this dark and powerful girl was stripped of everything, including her vectors, and she couldn't defend herself. And this was my fault. I was responsible for this, though how hard I wished I wasn't. Silence passed between us before I suddenly remembered the reason why I was summoned in here. I took a damp, wet cloth in my hand, and started dabbing it to her head, washing away the blood, and then rinsing it in a small bowl of cold water beside me. She didn't move, she didn't pull away, she only sat there in silence, and allowed me to touch her, to help her. She wasn't afraid of me.

**"Where did you hit me?"** her voice broke through my thoughts. I blinked, and stared at her, though she couldn't see my expression. She somehow sensed my confusion, and spoke again to me, though her eyes were still focused on the door, though for her, she was probably staring into the darkness that blinded her. **"On my head? Where did you hit me on my head that disabled my vectors, my sight...my body?"**

**"I hit you on the top of your head, but I effected most of your nervous and chakra systems. You won't be able to use your eyes or move much for at least a day or so. Your vectors might take a little longer,"** I explained to her, gently dabbing her face again, and washing away the last bit of blood that hid that elegant beauty. She only stared at the door, but there was a smile on her face. A small, charming smile that formed on her lips, as if she understood what I was saying.

**"I see..."** she tried to move a little, but couldn't, so I tilted her head back just ever so slightly, allowing me enough access to wash away the blood on her neck. She was silent for a moment longer, and then she spoke again to me. **"Um...why did you...well, attack me? And why did you bring me here?"**

I let my hand drift away from her face, and I stared at her, that charming, cunning smile staring towards the closed door, but I knew, deep down, it was meant for me. It was a smile that showed that she knew the answer before I spoke it. I didn't know whether I should answer her if she already knew. I paused for a brief moment, and my hand seemed to drift downwards towards her leg, and for only a soft, hesitant instant, I felt the warmth of her body just before she violently pulled away, whimpering slightly. It was exactly what I had expected, exactly what I had believed what Orochimaru had done to her.

**"Why did you attack me? What reason did you have to bring me here?"** she asked of me once more, and I could hear a slight fear of anguish inside her voice. She was still a vulnerable girl, a vulnerable child who had been sheltered by harmonious darkness and sin. But I still had no idea how to answer her.

**"I had to…for Orochimaru-sama. I didn't have a choice in the matter,"** I answered her, but my answer only made me sound as weak as she sounded.

**"So…you trespassed into my room, attacked me, and hit me across the head with a glass vase? And then brought me here?"** the girl sounded almost bemused by her own words, and a faint blush had formed on my face, forming a deep burn within my head.

**"Yeah. I'm really sorry about that, Rika-hime. I hope you don't hate me, but I had to do it. I didn't have a choice,"** it was only an excuse, but I couldn't think of anything else. She laughed, though. Laughed! As if I had spoken an hilarious joke to her. She laughed for just a moment, and then silenced herself of a laugh, but still spoke to me.

**"That's just it. You did have a choice. Everyone has a choice in life. But something is always there to prevent you from making the right choice, something that perhaps Orochimaru is hanging over your head. Tell me…what is it that the _great_ Orochimaru-sama holds over you?"** she asked of me, but I didn't want to answer her. There were several things Orochimaru held over my head, but only one stood out in the midst of it all….Death. I always feared that if I ever betrayed Orochimaru, or departed from him with my service, he would hunt me down, and kill me. Apparently, my silence was no more than my words themselves, as the girl had spoken to me again with a cunning smile. **"I thought so. It's not so much a thing, but an emotion. An emotion or a sensation of fear. It makes so much sense, but it is merely an excuse to hide and mask the reason why you did what you did. You had a choice, everyone does, but life is so complicated. It's like a fork in the road, and you have to make a choice to go one way, but that way could lead you to your death, and by the time you realize what kind of choice you made, it's already too late. You can't go back on that decision, on that choice, because someone was controlling you to make it. How sad a fate life is…."**

**"You don't know what you're talking about!"** I had blurted out, feeling so offended by her words, but as I hard as I tried to deny it, I could not ignore the fact that had been made. She was right, this girl was right. She was absolutely right. How could I not accept and agree with her?! She was RIGHT!

**"Don't I?"** she disagreed. **"I mean, you make a choice in life that follows you wherever you go, and by the time you realize what kind of choice you made, it's too late! You agree with me, I know you do, otherwise you wouldn't be so quiet!"**

I didn't know how to respond to her. I couldn't get the words out of my mind, the words that said it all. _She's right, she's right, she's right._ I pulled away from her, and started dabbing at her legs where she was bruised, but she pulled away, again, moaning out of pain of her own actions.

**"Those words coming from a girl who disowned her i family /i long ago, the only home she ever had,"** I responded to her, and that smile…that sweet, cunning smile…vanished into a sea of dark and blank sorrow. Tears filtered slightly to her eyes, but then they were gone, and replaced with a sudden look of loneliness and darkness, something that had obviously followed her for years, something she grew up with and knew since she was a child.

**"I never disowned or abandoned my family and home….They abandoned me years ago,"** she spoke solemnly, and then said no more. Did all she have inside her was hate and rage? Anger? And if so, then at who or what was she angry at?

**"Do you really hate them that much?"** I asked once more of her, but she said nothing in response, only leaned against the wall, and her eyes tilted slightly to the ceiling in a blank and solemn stare. I knew what was in her eyes, I knew what I was seeing, but I knew she would never reveal it to me. She only seemed to sit there before me, while I cleaned her of her own blood and tears with the cloth, in complete silence. After I finished, I dropped the cloth into the bowl of water, and just looked at her, knowing she was going to say something else, something she needed to get off her chest immediately.

**"What's your name?"** she asked of me, and I blinked, a little stunned by her question. But then I laughed, as it was a relief to get off such an uncomfortable topic.

**"Yakushi Kabuto,"** I told her, smiling, but then this smile went away as she spoke again.

**"Yakushi Kabuto, please understand that the word, 'hate,' is merely less than an understatement of how I feel for that place…for those people. I was never wanted there amongst them, so I no longer desire to be there among them. If I must, I will return there, only to insure the safety of one, and then all ties between me and them are severed…"** she sighed to me, though she was sighing to the darkness that blinded her. Though I didn't realize it, my hand seemed to fall over hers, and an embracing, warm sensation flooded through me, quickly overtaking me in a flood of heat and comfort. What was this feeling? **"You know what it feels like, don't you, Yakushi Kabuto? To hate something so much, but you can never get away from it? Because you're bonded to it, not strongly, but just enough to where you are pulled back into it. I feel so horrible about it, but at least you and I have something in common, for we know what that pain feels like."**

I merely nodded, though I knew she couldn't see it. I knew that pain, I knew that feeling to be bonded to something you can never get away from. It was more than just an addiction, it was a dependency. You need to be with that thing, or with that person, in order to survive. This was no mere matter of the mind, but more of a matter of the soul. I knew what she meant, and as I held her hand tighter around my own, I could feel the suddenly warm sensation within me strengthen, and beneath my palm...I felt her heart. Her heartbeat was steady, calm, normal, now. She wasn't afraid, but then again...she never really was. I wanted this sensation to fill me completely, to take over me. I loved this feeling, this weird and confusing feeling of knowing someone was like me, equal to me...

I pulled my hand away, but as I did so, her fingers trailed up against my skin, against my palm, and as this happened, with her fingers, she dragged away the warm sensation from within me. It was like a strong, violent flutter, consuming every warm feeling inside me, and replacing it with a sharp, sinking icy feeling that just filled me quicker than the warmth. A quick and sudden coldness that reached to the depth of my being. I had felt this before, as I remembered it all too well. It was the exact same feeling Orochimaru sent through his minions and me when he was not speaking to us, but ordering us without the use of words. It was the sense of great evil and chaos that existed within him, the great power that could only be found in those blessed with it. This girl...this weak and vulnerable girl...was just like Orochimaru. The hatred that raged through her rages through him, the desire to be strong, to be powerful, existed within her as it did in Orochimaru. This girl...whoever she was, she was more like Orochimaru than she was of me. My stomach knotted and my mind clouded at the thought that they were the same, but it was the same, no matter what. They were alike, exactly alike. And that was what terrified me. Could that be the reason why Orochimaru took such a strong obsession over her?


End file.
